Fascinating - Charles has this at #83, JerL and Jeremy think it should be even higher, and I assumed we'd already seen it long ago because to be honest, I don't really connect with it at all.
To put a positive spin on my response, we have different expectations from the Beatles' music, and yet we are all convinced they're brilliant because they've so impressed us with their ability over a variety of styles to give us what we enjoy / appreciate hearing in a pop/rock song.
It's also so hard to separate out personal history here: I listen to this and I instantly see myself on a bus in high school with one of my new soon-to-be BFFs giving me a mix CD with this song on it and having my mind blown; I see myself watching the rooftop concert for the first which as Rory Amaral notes below really makes this song look good; I see myself learning to play the guitar riff and discovering that beautiful hammer on/pull off chord from the A to the D (also used to excellent effect in I've Got a Feeling and Mother Nature's Son).
If you encountered this song differently, why would you react it to the same way I did? One of my favourite things about this song is that it functions as a little personal shibboleth: if this is one of your favourite Beatles songs, then you're my kind of Beatles fan!
As our host has noted, everyone has their own personal Beatles and that's a huge part of their charm.
I agree with you. I rate this higher. I love this type of tossed-off jam and prefer it's sound to a lot of very good songs that were fussed-over. If they had given this the full Day in the Life studio treatment I don't think it would be any better. It's raw by design, and that makes it great. I highly recommend St. Vincent's live cover version on YouTube. She plays the lead and sings it.
Tbf, I think George's guitar on this isn't quite "tossed off", and is a big part of what I like about the song. But agree that it's got a loose, noisy energy that really works.
Fair! We've reached the point where every single song is one that I want to push higher. I originally had this lower but kind finding it creeping upward. If I redo the list in a year or two, it might even end up scoring even better.
TBC, not a criticism! I joke that my top ten Beatles song list has fifty songs on it, at some point it's impossible to both rank the songs and really feel like you're giving each one its due.
Lol I realize my last sentence still sounds critical, but no! I think what's great about this series is that since like, song #150, the actual writing has been pure "here is why this song is great"; you basically can't tell the rank at all from what you write about the song, which I think is great. I just mean... The actual assigning of a rank always feels like it's short changing the song. Your writing absolutely does not! If anything, it's pleasant to encounter songs that you are underrating by my lights, cause I get to read about them sooner, lol!
Yeah, my general attitude is to try to write each one as ‘here’s what I’d say about my favorite song’. Glad that it comes through.
I said at the start that I don’t like when people say the ranks ‘don’t matter,’ because they actually do matter a lot as a way of thinking about what makes a particular song great. And I put a lot of thought into each exact position. But I just also recognize that they will inevitably continue to move, and that the ordering doesn’t generally need to be discussed, unless there’s some specific reason it seems interesting.
I think you'll see the ranks will matter more to people as we get closer to the top. I know I wouldn't have the patience to rank 208 songs from any one group or artist, and if many of the readers are like me, they're not likely to think "Oh, that song shouldn't be #110, I think it should be around #95". But when you start putting more iconic Beatles' tunes at #15, or #8, or #3 (as is inevitable of course) - oh boy, I'll bet you'll hear a lot more responses from people who think the rankings matter!
Fascinating - Charles has this at #83, JerL and Jeremy think it should be even higher, and I assumed we'd already seen it long ago because to be honest, I don't really connect with it at all.
To put a positive spin on my response, we have different expectations from the Beatles' music, and yet we are all convinced they're brilliant because they've so impressed us with their ability over a variety of styles to give us what we enjoy / appreciate hearing in a pop/rock song.
It's also so hard to separate out personal history here: I listen to this and I instantly see myself on a bus in high school with one of my new soon-to-be BFFs giving me a mix CD with this song on it and having my mind blown; I see myself watching the rooftop concert for the first which as Rory Amaral notes below really makes this song look good; I see myself learning to play the guitar riff and discovering that beautiful hammer on/pull off chord from the A to the D (also used to excellent effect in I've Got a Feeling and Mother Nature's Son).
If you encountered this song differently, why would you react it to the same way I did? One of my favourite things about this song is that it functions as a little personal shibboleth: if this is one of your favourite Beatles songs, then you're my kind of Beatles fan!
As our host has noted, everyone has their own personal Beatles and that's a huge part of their charm.
Love the John and Paul angle. Would never have occurred to me, but I do kind of see it.
This isn't a song I've ever really cared too much for, but it is fun. Arguably the best performance on the rooftop (although not the best song)
Another song I think I'd push a little higher? I guess I just have more of a soft spot for John doing free association rock n roll?
I agree with you. I rate this higher. I love this type of tossed-off jam and prefer it's sound to a lot of very good songs that were fussed-over. If they had given this the full Day in the Life studio treatment I don't think it would be any better. It's raw by design, and that makes it great. I highly recommend St. Vincent's live cover version on YouTube. She plays the lead and sings it.
Tbf, I think George's guitar on this isn't quite "tossed off", and is a big part of what I like about the song. But agree that it's got a loose, noisy energy that really works.
Fair! We've reached the point where every single song is one that I want to push higher. I originally had this lower but kind finding it creeping upward. If I redo the list in a year or two, it might even end up scoring even better.
TBC, not a criticism! I joke that my top ten Beatles song list has fifty songs on it, at some point it's impossible to both rank the songs and really feel like you're giving each one its due.
Lol I realize my last sentence still sounds critical, but no! I think what's great about this series is that since like, song #150, the actual writing has been pure "here is why this song is great"; you basically can't tell the rank at all from what you write about the song, which I think is great. I just mean... The actual assigning of a rank always feels like it's short changing the song. Your writing absolutely does not! If anything, it's pleasant to encounter songs that you are underrating by my lights, cause I get to read about them sooner, lol!
Yeah, my general attitude is to try to write each one as ‘here’s what I’d say about my favorite song’. Glad that it comes through.
I said at the start that I don’t like when people say the ranks ‘don’t matter,’ because they actually do matter a lot as a way of thinking about what makes a particular song great. And I put a lot of thought into each exact position. But I just also recognize that they will inevitably continue to move, and that the ordering doesn’t generally need to be discussed, unless there’s some specific reason it seems interesting.
I think you'll see the ranks will matter more to people as we get closer to the top. I know I wouldn't have the patience to rank 208 songs from any one group or artist, and if many of the readers are like me, they're not likely to think "Oh, that song shouldn't be #110, I think it should be around #95". But when you start putting more iconic Beatles' tunes at #15, or #8, or #3 (as is inevitable of course) - oh boy, I'll bet you'll hear a lot more responses from people who think the rankings matter!
HOW DARE YOU PUT YESTERDAY AT #7 IT’S OBVIOUSLY #3!!!!!!1